52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2018 WEEK 10: WILLIAM BARSTOW OF HANOVER, MA. PT2

Besides being one of the first shipwrights in the colonies, my ancestor William Barstow also was one of the first settlers of Hanover, Ma., and built a bridge over the North River. In 1910  Hanover published a town history written by Jedediah Dwelley and John F.Simmons. In it I found this about the bridge:

"Very early in the history of the colony the necessity of a bridge at this point became imperative, and, in 1656, "before William Bradford, Governor, and Thomas Prince, William Collier, Timothy Hatherly, John Alden, and James Cudworth, Counsellors," William Barstow agreed "for the sum of 12 pounds to make a good and suitable bridge over the North river at Stony Reach, being the place where now passengers go frequently over—the said bridge to be made sufficient for horse and foot, and to clear and mark a way to Hughes' Cross and beyond toward the Bay." This bridge was completed before October, 1657, as on that date the Court appointed a committee to see "that the horse bridge over the North River and the way unto it be sufficiently done, and to judge what William Barstow is worthy to have for his work and pains thereabout."'

During the next ten years there were several orders of the Court relative to this bridge. One was in 1663, when "the Major and the Treasurer were appointed a committee to agree with William Barstow to repair the bridge at North River, the charges thereof to be levied by rate on the said townships of this government."

The next year William Barstow gave bonds to the Court, "in consideration of the payment to him of twenty pounds, to forthwith repair the bridge and keep it in repair sufficient for the transportation of passengers, horses and cattle for the full term of twenty years." Mr. Barstow died in 1668, and others took up the work of repairs.-pp239-240

There was also information about William running an "ordinary " near the bridge:

We will not further follow the orders relative to the first bridge (which was always called Barstow's bridge) but will say a word about William Barstow, the builder, as we have glimpses of the strength and weakness of his character. He was one of four brothers who came to New England about 1635. Barry says that William was "the first settler of whom we have any record on the present boundary of Hanover.'' He was a large land-owner and was often engaged in the business of the Colony. He was highway surveyor for the town of Scituate, this being then the most important town office. He was one of the jurors in a murdei case, and on a committee for laying out lands. Soon after the construction of the bridge, (in June, 165?) he was authorized by the Court "to draw and sell wine, beer, and strong waters for passengers that come and go over the bridge he hath lately made or others that should have occasion, unless any just "exceptions" came in against." These "exceptions" came evidently, as in 1666 the Court passed an order censuring him for "not keeping an ordinary fit for the entertainment of strangers." "This ordinary was kept by his son Joseph after the death of his father, and in 1684 he was discharged from "keeping an ordinary at the North River" and Joseph Sylvester, the ancestor of the Sylvesters who now live near the bridge, was licensed to keep it.

An interesting episode in the life of William Barstow was his apology before the Court for slandering the Rev. Charles Chauncy, pastor of the Church in Scituate, who afterwards became president of Harvard College. Mr. Barstow had stated publicly that Mr. Chauncy's utterances were the cause of the death of his brother George. He closes the apology by saying "and I desire that this sad experience of my aptness to offend God and his people may be a motive unto me to set a better watch over my tongue in the future."-p240

History of the Town of Hanover, Massachusetts, with Family Genealogies  published by the Town of Hanover, Hanover, Ma. 1910

I need to see if I can find the location of that bridge once the weather turns warmer!

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2018 WEEK 10: WILLIAM BARSTOW OF HANOVER, MA. PT1

Moses Simmons Jr.'s wife was Patience Barstow, daughter of my 8x great grandfather William Barstow. He was  the first settler of Hanover,Ma. as well as one of the first shipwrights in Massachusetts. Here's Richard William Cutter's biographical sketch of Barstow and his family:

William Barstow, immigrant ancestor, was one of four brothers of that name who settled in Massachusetts. He came over with his brother when he was twenty-three years of age, sailing in the “Trnelove." September 20, 1635. He was in Dedham in 1636, and signed the petition for the incorporation of that town under the name of Contentment. On February 16, 1642, he and his brother George received grants of “upland ground fit for improvement with the plough." In 1649 he was a freeman at Scituate, and he was the first settler of whom there is record at Hanover, Massachusetts. He was a prominent man and well to do, owning a large amount of real estate. He died in Scituate in 1668, aged fifty-six years. His widow was administratrix on his estate. ,He left no will, but in the will of his brother Michael, mention is made of his eight children, though the names of only five have been found. He married, probably in New England, Anne —. Children: Joseph, mentioned below; Patience, born in Dedham, December 3, 1643; Deborah, in Scituate, August, I650; William, in Scituate, September, I652; Martha, in Scituate, 1655. p1329

Genealogical and Family History of Western New York: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Building of a Nation, Volume 3  Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1912 NY,NY




William Barstow was more than just a wealthy landowner, He owned an inn, built a bridge across
the North River, and owned a shipyard on that river that was a family business for several generations. I'll have more to say about these interests in the next post.

A WALK ALONG THE NORTH RIVER, NORWELL, MA.

Back in November I mentioned I'd discovered that my 8x great grandfather
William Barstow was among the early shipbuilders of New England and
that he'd built the second shipyard on the North River in Hanover Ma back
in the mid 1600's. Today my brother in law Peter and I took a walk along the
shores of the North River at the Norris Reservation which is a bit further down
the river from where my ancestor's shipyard would have been. Ironically, I
discovered when I got home and began thinking about this post that yesterday,
1Jan, was the 345th anniversary of his death in 1667.

Apart from the advantages to a shipbuilder of being a tidal river, the North
River  at the point where it passes through Norwell is beautiful to see.

SO MUCH TO LEARN!

((Important correction at the end of the post!))

This is one of those stories that has me slapping myself up the side of the
head and saying ":DUH!"

Bear with me and you'll understand why.

I spent many days this past summer taking photographs of headstones at
the local cemeteries annd that lead me to Find A Grave which is a great
website and help for genealogists. I plan to upload all the usable photos
I took there(some aren't usable and will be deleted. I'm still learning) and
I've become a volunteer, taking pictures of headstones for relatives who
request them.

One such request was for a group of headstones at the Hanover, Ma.
Center Cemetery of Barstow family members. I managed to find and
post ten of the requests to Find A Grave but didn't give much thought
to it when I did it other than fulfilling the requests

Another routine I've gotten into is to post the birth, wedding, and death
anniversaries of my ancestors as Facebook updates. The hope is that by
doing so I'll make a cousin connection with one of my genealogy friends.
Well today was the 372nd birthday of 7x great grandfather Robert
Barrows and after I'd posted that on Facebook I took a look at what I
had for sources for him and his family. One of these was his daughter
in law, Patience Simmons, whose mother was named Patience Barstow
and whose grandfather was William Barstow, one of the original settlers
of...Hanover, Ma. He built the first bridge over the North River and
had the second shipyard in the area.

I knew nothing of those accomplishments until today, nor did I realize
when I took those pictures of the Barstow headstones in the Hanover
Center Cemetery that they were possibly relatives.

To be honest, I have so many lines in my family tree it's hard to keep track
of some of the older ones. And I know most genealogists concentrate on
just a few lines.


But there's all this fascinating STUFF out there to learn about my ancestors!
Not just names and dates but things they've done.

I've said it before,  so many gedcoms, so little time!

And now, I'm adding "so much to learn" to that.

Correction-Earlier this year, Barrows cousin Martin Hollick sent me
a copy of an article he wrote about the Barrows family which disproves 
the earlier information I had that Robert Barrows was born on 5Nov 
1639 in Salem, Ma. He probably was born about 1641, perhaps in
Plymouth. While I'd  made the correction in one database, I hadn't yet
done so in the one I use for the birthdays calendar. That correction has 
now been made. Thanks, Martin!